Checkmate
by Azarath235
Summary: The soldiers that guard the court. The rock that charges ahead. The horse that weaves from behind. The priest that enchants. The figurehead that stands tall, and the crown that rules them all. A series of drabbles focused in the APH AU of Chessverse/Chesstalia. For now, the rating is mild but with new additions, this may change. Title also subject to change.
1. Chapter 1 - Ejszaka

**Two-Faced...?**

* * *

It was quiet in the palace. Just an everyday routine that all the occupants were sticking to. That being said, there was always a need to maintain a fine balance between the two kingdoms of Éjszaka and Luxaurea. So, as per routine, Queen Elizabeta Hedvary was currently in a meeting with Bishop and Advisor Kiku Honda. And as such, the other court members were standing by to wait on the inevitable decisions they would be sharing and the subsequent methods they would need to go about to fulfill said decisions.

Though when saying 'court members', in actuality it was simply Rook Ludwig waiting for this meeting to end. The two kingdoms were currently at peace, save for a few tussles for land, but of course these sort of tussles were exactly where Ludwig's defensive expertise came into play. So quietly and patiently, Ludwig stationed himself outside the doors of the meeting room for the signal to enter. It wasn't exactly the most exciting thing to do but he didn't mind. He fancied the quiet. It was always calming and relaxing. If it lasted.

"Luddy~!"

 _If it lasted._ Ludwig, of course, didn't mind their excitable and happy-go-lucky King Feliciano Vargas but this man's energy just never seemed to deplete. He was a bouncing bubble of sunshine and rainbows in their otherwise dark kingdom of the night.*

With a small sigh, Ludwig turned to face the approaching brunette. "Yes, my King?"

"What are you doing just standing around out here? Isn't that boring?" It seems the man had decided to forgo his normal full attire and had shed several layers despite the weather cooling down before winter officially began. Feliciano tilted his head to one side, that single curl which refused to stay hidden springing up in Ludwig's face.

"I am simply waiting for out Queen and Bishop to finish up their meeting. It's not that bad of a wait. Those two are very efficient and work well." Thought, Ludwig doubted there was anyone who didn't work well with Kiku. The eldest in the Éjszaka court and second eldest of all the royalty, only falling short to the Queen of Luxaurea, Kiku was very knowledgeable in all the inner and outer workings of the kingdoms. His words were precise and well thought out and his ability to adapt to any situation was astounding.

"Oh! If they're having a meeting, wouldn't that involve stuff you'll need to take care of?"

"Ja. I'm waiting for them to finish and inform me of what I will need to do."

Feliciano tilted his head to the other side, an eyebrow quirking. "Why not join the meeting? Wouldn't it be faster than waiting for them to repeat the information?"

He did have a point. But Ludwig typically left Elizabeta and Kiku to their own devices when they were in a meeting. With just the two of them conversing, surely decisions would come to pass quicker than if a third individual joined, right? "...I'm not sure Feli...they've only conducted their meetings as a pair. I don't believe there would be any need for other court members unless something more pressing came up."

"Awwh but i'll be even _more_ efficient if you join in on the meeting! C'mon, if they get mad, just say I sent you in~!" Jumping around to Ludwig's backside, Feliciano pressed insistently at the Rook's back, nudging him towards the doors.

Ludwig tried to protest. "My King, there's no need to intrude on them. Please, I do not mind waiting..." Queen Elizabeta was a ferocious warrior ruler. Even if she rarely displayed that trait, Ludwig knew she was not one to make angry. Even if Feliciano were to take the blame, if Elizabeta were to grow angry about this, he would not be able to get away scot free simply with their King'd blessing.

"Nonsense, it'll be fine~" Of all times, why did Feliciano have to choose now to act so clueless? At least, Ludwig prayed this was an act and Feliciano knew just as well what could happen if this was a wrong move. Feliciano was at the doors now, and before Ludwig could stop him, they opened.

Frozen still and waiting for the backlash, it took a moment for Ludwig to realize there was no reaction from the individuals inside. In fact, they didn't seem to have noticed the doors opening. And it took yet another moment before Ludwig noticed the almost tangible tension lingering in the room. Kiku was speaking and though his words were natural, there was something about them that sent a chill down the large man's spine.

"I'm afraid you are horribly misguided in thinking this plan could hold any merit, _my Queen_."

Elizabeta looked as though she was itching to draw a blade on her advisor. "And you believe you have a better idea?" An exasperated sigh. "...Well regardless, I doubt you have your priorities in line. So before you try to downplay what I'm trying to do, put those in check. I can't have a traitorous Bishop in my court after all."

"You should already know where my loyalties lie, _my Queen_. Either way, you had me brought here _because_ of my ideas, did you not?" came the response. Ludwig could almost hear the crazed grin within Kiku's words. "Or has your mind deteriorated that much since you appointed me Bishop? I'm afraid Luxaurea will overpower this kingdom should that be the case."

With confusion written plainly on his face, Feliciano stepped more into the room. "Um...ciao?"

Turning around to face the two new additions to the room, Kiku examined the Rook and King briefly before turning back to face Elizabeta. All tension that had built up in the room suddenly cracked as he spoke his next line. "I will get right to devising a plan to tackle this and return to propose the details to you." A gently smile graced his lips as he gave a low, polite bow and turned to exit the room, leaving Feliciano and Ludwig dumbfounded. What had happened during this meeting? Any sort of animosity dripping from Kiku was completely unheard of.

Struggling to find words, Ludwig looked between Elizabeta and Kiku' retreating figure. "...Did...that...really just happen?"

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A/N: Alright! I had debated writing up some info about this AU at the top but ultimately decided against that so I'm doing it down here.

So for those that are unaware of this AU, Chessverse was started by a Japanese fan by the name of Nokaku. Their works can be found on pixiv (and other sources but I'd recommend pixiv as it's the original source). They first designed the Allies, followed by the Axis, Nordics, and Soviets. I _would_ link to these images but doesn't like people inserting links. (A simple search of 'hetalia nokaku' can get you the images however). The designs consist of a King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, and Rook. They also seemed to have plans for Pawns to be included as well but never drew any designs for their chosen Pawns.

The Nokaku canon roles are as follows:  
Axis - King: North Italy; Queen: Hungary; Bishop: Japan; Knight: Austria; Rook: Germany  
Allies - King: America; Queen: China; Bishop: France; Knight: England; Rook: Russia  
Nordics - King: Sweden; Queen: Finland; Bishop: Norway; Knight: Iceland; Rook: Denmark  
Soviets - King: Russia; Queen: Ukraine; Bishop: Estonia; Knight: Lithuania; Rook: Belarus  
In addition to these full sets, they also seemed to have ideas for the Asians and listed Hong Kong as a Bishop and Taiwan as a Queen but there's is no further content about these that I can find.  
 **There is a link I have provided on my profile if you wish to see the designs without having to search all over the internet for them.** If has kept this policy from years back, I cannot put links in chapters so I've put it on my profile instead.

Everything else that I will be writing about are my own headcanons and plottings of this universe. I'll give a brief overview of these as this end section is already getting very long.

The Queens are the rulers, so each kingdom is ruled by the matriarch.  
The Kings are only figureheads. They _represent_ the kingdom but the Queen _rules_ it. Therefore, a kingdom is essentially doomed if the King get captured. Kings can have a say in the Kingdom's/Queen's affairs but ultimately, it's the Queen's decision on how the Kingdom will act.  
The Knights are skilled in offensive methods/tactics/etc. They head their Kingdom's military.  
The Rooks are skilled in defensive methods/tactics/etc. They are typically strategists and second in command of the military.  
The Bishops are both advisors and magicians. Their magic has limits but it will take a bit for me to explain that so I will leave that for another time.

The land is based off of Pangaea Ultima so this world all takes place on one large continent.

Éjszaka Királyság, or Éjszaka, is the Axis' Kingdom. It's name is Hungarian for Night Kingdom.  
Regnum Aurea Lux, or Luxaurea, is the Allies' Kingdom. It's name is Latin for Kingdom of Golden Light.  
I also have plans for the Nordics, Soviets and Asians and their kingdoms but since they weren't mentioned in this drabble thing, I'll save that info for another time. And yes, Soviets and Asians have their own things despite Ivan, Kiku and Yao being slotted in the Axis/Allies groupings.

And so, with that wall of information, has anyone survived to make it to this sentence? XD I will be slowly adding more short fics and world information at further dates but for now, this is a stand alone fic. Thank you very much for reading!


	2. Chapter 2 - Luxaurea

**You're Joking, Right?**

* * *

To say there was a heavy curtain of tension whenever Knight Arthur Kirkland and Bishop Francis Bonnefoy were in the same room together would be a grave understatement. It was an honest wonder the Luxaurean court got anything done with spats between the two arising every couple of minutes. And with the two court members having these spats ever since their childhood, there was no sign of the animosity dropping.

Despite having no ties to the two outside of being fellow court members and residents of the palace, King Alfred F. Jones and his brother Matthew Williams always found the tense relations an interesting topic to discuss. Well...more like Alfred was curious and often dragged Matthew along to help investigate. Though to say 'investigate' as a descriptor was a tad off. Observing Arthur and Francis' interactions was a more accurate depiction of what they partook in. Much to the chagrin of Matthew. He was only a Pawn after all. Training to join the military as a mounted archer. Unlike his adoptive brother, the _King,_ he didn't quite have the luxury to get on the bad side of any of the court members. Though, as Alfred insisted numerous times over to him, none of the other court members would ever consider Matthew being able to get on their bad sides.

Regardless of Matthew's thoughts on the issue, however, here they were again bounding after Francis following the conclusion of one of their usual meetings. With a decisive 'Let's ask him directly,' Alfred had quickly located his elder brother several paces away from the meeting room and dragged him after the blonde Bishop. "Al...I-I really don't think we need to do this..." Matthew's words were hesitant, already predicting the response he'd receive from the young King.

"Aww c'mon Mattie, aren't you even a _little_ curious? This'll be cool! We'll get to learn more about Arthur and Francis~!" Alfred was clearly having none of Matthew's protests, mind dead set on discovering the secret behind their sour relations.

"T-this really isn't necessary...P-please Al..." He knew he couldn't fight him with Alfred so set but Matthew tried anyways.

"What's so wrong about getting to know the other court members more~?"

Oh boy, this reasoning again? "B-but there's other and better things to ask about than this..."

"That stuff's not as interesting! This has been going on since their _childhood!_ That could be hundreds of years for them! The reason must be super juice if it's lasted that long!" That was a good point if Matthew were to be honest but he knew expressing interest would only seal his fate.

Matthew was always curious about the matter of age, something he had never spoken up about with Alfred. He had grown up thinking nothing special about it. However, upon meeting Queen Yao and Bishop Kiku, then just normal individuals who had yet to receive their titles, and moving into what would become their palace, he had noticed there seemed to be a difference in how Yao and Kiku aged compared to himself and the other court members from the west. A difference in the amount of raw magic in the lands they grew up in? Kiku had seemed to agree with the hypothesis when he had brought it up with him. So with that in respect, why had Arthur and Francis' relations remained sour for likely decades or hundreds of years? With Alfred's persistence, maybe they would find out. "Yo Francis!" Here it was, the moment of truth. "Mattie and I were curious about something!"

Matthew hissed. "Don't drag me into this, _you're_ the one curious enough about asking!"

Francis turned to face the two brothers, closing his book and tucking it in his arm. "Oh? And what exactly has piqued your curiosity?"

"You've been fighting with Arthur for a shit ton of decades right?!" Francis blinked and seemed to seize up ever so slightly at the question. Oh no, was this really a bad question to ask him? Alfred failed to notice however. "Why? Why's it so bad between you two?"

Francis paused a moment before chuckling. "Why, wouldn't that be because he's jealous of my talent~? Being a magician is so much fun, I bet he wished he had the same natural knack for it~"

"Whaaaat?! Just because of something like that?"

Francis grinned at Alfred's reaction. "Well you know Arthur, he gets worked up over the smallest things~" Alfred didn't seem to buy it and when Francis turned to continue on his way, the King followed persistently, leaving Matthew watching their backs. It seemed too small an issue to persist for so long; Francis was just joking right? His behavior seemed to reflect that and he wouldn't put it past the blonde either.

* * *

A/N: Another little insert done! This time centering around the FACE boys~ Alright, I also have some more world building canons to add now so fingers crossed it doesn't get as long as the last chapter did. XD

Pawns are not quite the same as regular citizens. They are typically palace workers or involved in the military though it is not limited to just that. Other common Pawn roles could include spies, secondary advisors (or by extension advisors in training), scribes, etc.

Age is a very strange thing in this world. Everyone is human (and therefore not immortal like their nation counterparts are) but there are varying amounts of raw magic in the land that plays with their DNA and prolongs their lives. As was brought up in the story, the land Yao and Kiku grew up in has more raw magic in it which drew their lives longer than the FACE boys (and even the Nordics). He isn't mentioned in this drabble but Ivan's life is also prolonged more as he grew up near Yao and Kiku's lands.  
There is a reason I purposefully chose to have their lives prolonged and hopefully I can get to writing something looking into that soon. It will explain both Kiku's backstory from the previous chapter and tie in the Soviets and Asians that I mentioned in the first A/N.

Anyways, I think that's all I need to clarify about the contents of this chapter. However if I _did_ miss something that's super confusing, feel free to let me know and I'll edit this A/N.

Next drabble will look at Ivan!


End file.
